Nanowerk  March 6, 2023 Single quantum dots and coupled quantum dots formed with massless Dirac fermions can be viewed as artificial relativistic atoms and molecules, respectively. Such structures offer a unique testbed to study atomic and molecular physics in the ultrarelativistic regime. An international team of researchers (USA – UC Santa Cruz, UK, Japan) used a scanning tunnelling microscope to create and probe single and coupled electrostatically defined graphene quantum dots to unravel the magnetic-field responses of artificial relativistic nanostructures. When electrons in graphene are confined in a quantum dot, they travel in circular loops around the edge of the […]